Reunion

Suddenly the ground began to violently shake, and the bookcases began to tip.

Another tremor.

The four of them lost their balance and fell to the floor.

This tremor was larger than the previous two.

Nobu used his wings to protect them from the falling books, however on the opposite end of the library one of the floating bookcases fell from the ceiling. The tremor was overpowering the magic.

"We need to get out of here!" Nobu yelled over the crashing and ringing of the earth. 

Soma nodded. He grabbed Sachi and held her close, surprising Sachi. With his wind magic, Soma manifested a wind current to ride along out of the library.

Nobu grabbed ahold of Himari, following closely behind Soma and Sachi.

Outside the library, the castle walls shook, pieces of enchanting ceiling meeting the grand floor. The guards were escorting officials out and calling for evacuation. 

Nobu hid his wings and rode Soma's wind current out of the palace. 

Once safely out of the palace, Soma and Nobu placed the girls down. 

Soma turned to Sachi. "You need to leave the island quickly. Once this tremor stops my father and lots of other people will be looking for you." 

"Even if we leave this island and go to another island, they are sure to find us. We have nowhere to go." Himari voiced her concerns.

Soma's eyes sharpened. "Then you'll go to the surface."

"What about you? Aren't you coming with us?" Himari questioned.

"No. I need to stay here. I need to right the wrongs my ancestors created. I need to expose the truth. I will face my father and become the proper leader the people need. I will handle the sky. You three need to get to the surface and find a way to make things right." 

"How are we supposed to get through the cloud barrier?" Himari asked.

Soma turned to Nobu. "I trust you can get them through. You went through it once; you can do it again."

"It was pure luck the first time. There are unknown dangers that I can't protect them from in there. It's too dangerous." 

Sachi spoke up. "Prince Soma is right.  We need to right the wrongs of the past to stop the prophecy. We need to go to the surface somehow, even if it's dangerous."

-

The faint sound of a bell.

The faint sound of a crack.

-

Soma looked Nobu in the eyes. "Can I trust you to protect them?"

Nobu's tone grew serious as he met Soma's eyes. "You have my word."

Cracks raced across the ground, throwing them slightly off balance.

Himari ran up to Soma and hugged him. "Soma, be careful."

Soma returned the hug. "I'm not going to run away anymore. I'll be the person I'm supposed to be."

Himari smiled. "You're going to be a great ruler."

Soma pulled back. "Now go. I'll hold them off so you can escape." Soma turned back towards the castle and didn't look back. His back showing a newfound strength within himself.

Sachi, Himari, and Nobu turned to the opposite way leading them into the forest behind the castle. 

The forest trembled beneath their feet. Leaves rattled like whispering ghosts, and towering trees groaned as if the island itself were in pain.

Suddenly - a sound cut through the chaos. Soft. Fragile. Vulnerable.

A child's cry.

Both girls skidded to a halt.

Sachi turned her head, looking for the source. "Did you hear that?"

Nobu came to a halt. "What are you doing? We have to go."

Himari's chest heaved. "It sounds like someone's in trouble..."

"Yeah. Us!" Nobu barked. "We don't have time."

Sachi and Himari exchanged a look. The kind that asked a hundred questions in a single heartbeat.

Then, without a word, they turned off the path toward the sound.

Nobu huffed. "Oh alright..." And followed behind the girls.

Somewhere in the trembling woods, a small child was crying while the island was collapsing. 

The crying grew louder as they pushed through the tangle of brush and broken branches. Then they saw her - a small girl, no older than four, her face streaked with tears and dirt. Her leg was trapped under a fallen tree limb.

Nobu quickly pulled the tree off the child as Sachi dropped to her knees beside the child, voice soft despite the tremors still quaking through the ground. "Hey, it's okay. We're here to help."

Himari knelt beside her, taking out her herbal medicine and bandages. Nobu broke a tree branch into a smaller size and handed it to Himari to make a temporary splint. Himari wrapped the girl's leg as gently as she could while murmuring words of comfort. The girl whimpered, clinging to Sachi's arm, but didn't resist.

As Himari finished wrapping the child's leg, the shaking stopped. Silence fell over the forest, broken only by the child's sniffles.

When Himari was finished, the child grabbed hold of her and hugged her. "Thank you."

"We really should go now." Nobu said. 

"We can't just leave her, she's injured." Himari refuted.

"The tremor has stopped; it'll only be a matter of time before the guards find us."

"Couldn't we quickly bring her home?" Sachi asked.

Himari looked around. "The city isn't too far from here, at the very least we could bring her back."

The girls looked at Nobu, eyes begging for permission.

Nobu groaned. "Fine, but quickly."

-

Back in the city, it was like stepping into another kind of disaster.

Some buildings had collapsed into themselves, while others stood like wounded giants, cracked and leaning. Smoke curled into the sky from several places. Civilians stumbled through the chaos - bloodied, dazed, calling out for loved ones. Some helped carry the injured. Others frozen in shock. Children clutched toys or blankets, crying of parents that didn't answer. Guards rushed through the streets, shouting orders, trying to keep order, but the panic was too thick. Too loud. Too real. Not many buildings were ruined and not many seemed injured, but it was enough for the atmosphere to be completely different from what it once was.

Himari gasped. "If this is how the kingdom looks, I can't imagine what the other islands look like..."

"We can't just leave her all alone..." Sachi's heart felt heavy. She felt a responsibility to this destruction. 

"There's no way we'll find her home in this mess though." Nobu pointed out.

"Can you tell us where your home is?" Himari asked the girl.

The little girl looked around the chaos only to dig her head deeper into Himari's chest. Himari couldn't help but notice the girl's hair was tied the same way her mother used to tie her hair, it made her feel nostalgic.

"Let's at least leave her somewhere safe. That's the least we can do." Sachi suggested.

Himari nodded and Sachi and Nobu threw their cloaks over their heads.

They walked through the crowded streets of disarray looking for somewhere to leave the child.

They hadn't walked far until they heard a man screaming. "Hina!" The man's voice continued to yell out, his voice growing hoarser with each shout.

The little girl perked her head up and looked around. "Papa?"

The man's eyes caught sight of the little girl and came rushing up to them. "Hina, are you okay? Thank you for saving my daughter."

Nobu, Sachi, and Himari turned around to see the man who proclaimed this was his child.

"Ah! You're the man from before. Masato, wasn't it?" Sachi recognized the man who helped her before.

But the man didn't say anything. His eyes frozen, his mouth dry.

Himari's eyes widened as she stared into the eyes that mimicked hers. Floods of memories, feelings, thoughts overpowered her ability to speak.

Nobu noticed Himari's look. He gently grabbed ahold of Sachi and led her away, leaving Himari alone with the man.

"Nobu, what are you doing? What about Himari?"

Nobu led Sachi into a nearby deserted alley. "I think it's best if we give them some space."

"But I thought we had to get out of here quickly?"

"Some things are worth risking it for..." Nobu sighed, hoping he made the right call.

-

Himari gazed upon the man in front of her. His hair had faded and turned grey, deep wrinkles painted his face, and eye bags under his eyes weighed heavy. In the five years apart, time had quickly taken its toll.

His hoarse voice hesitated. "Himari... Is... Is that really you?"

Himari didn't speak. She couldn't find her voice. After all these years, she was finally face to face with her father. Her heart ached. The memories of her once loving family tarnished over years of expectations and pressure. She couldn't tell if she was happy to see him again or angry. 

The little girl squirmed in Himari's arms, reaching towards the man. Suddenly reminding Himari that her family moved on without her. Himari handed the little girl to the man. As the little girl nestled in her father's arms she looked back to Himari. "Thank you for saving me."

Himari gave a small smile towards the child before turning away to leave.

"Himari-" Masato called out to her. "I know it's too late to say this, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry for pushing you too hard. I'm sorry for not standing up for you better. I'm sorry for the pain your mother and I both caused you. It wasn't your fault that you couldn't meet our unrealistic expectations. As your parents we failed to protect you and see you for you. You don't have to forgive me, but I want you to know that not a day goes by I don't regret my actions."

Himari was frozen in place. She didn't expect to hear those words. She remembered how strict her father's teachings and her mother's trainings were. She remembered the countless sleepless nights of studying and practicing. The constant berating of how she wasn't good enough or trying hard enough. She remembered how her mother would lock her in her room without food for days until she trained hard enough. She remembered the haunting look of disapproval her mother gave her. In fact, it was hard to remember her mother's face with any other expression. While there were goods times hidden away in her mind, they were always quickly overcome with the anxiety she used to feel about letting her parents down. Himari's hands trembled and her voice shook. "Why was it so difficult...? So difficult for you to love me for me...?"

Masato's chest ached. "I have always loved you, Himari. I still do."

Himari snapped. "Then what did I do that was so wrong?"

Masato's eyes grew misty.

-

A small child on the floor crying. "What did I do that was so wrong?! I did my best so why am I being punished?!"

-

Masato cautiously walked closer to Himari, gently placing a hand of her shoulder. "Nothing my child. I am the one that was wrong. I'm sorry I let the way of the world and the voices of others influence my behavior. I have no excuse for what happened."

Himari's voice lowered. "I wasn't taken by monsters... Mama threw me off the island..."

Masato's eyes widened and he pulled back his hand. "What?"

"She left me to die..."

"I had no knowledge of that." His voice growing angry. "When I came to, she was crying out that monsters had taken you."

"I wasn't taken by monsters. I was saved by a Tengu."

Masato gritted his teeth. "I won't let her get away with such an act. I'm so sorry Himari. I have failed you in more ways than one..."

Himari took a deep breath and turned around to face her father. "Instead of an apology, can you do me a favor?"

Masato was surprised by the request. "Anything."

"I am going to the surface to find a way to fix the world and save us from the prophecy. Prince Soma will need your help here in the kingdom and I want you to back him up."

"Fix the world? What do you intend to do?"

"We must find a way to unite the humans and Yokai like it once was. The Tengu and Tsuchigumo are not our enemies."

"But they kidnap and kill humans."

"Because we killed them first. We betrayed them first. We need to make it right otherwise it'll be the end for humankind."

Masato was silent for a moment. "You said a Tengu saved you?"

Himari nodded.

Masato had made up his mind. "Then you have my word. I shall support the prince to make things right in this kingdom."

"Thank you... I really should go now." Himari turned to leave again. 

"Be safe on your journey and give my regards to the Tengu and Otherworlder child." Masato called out to her. "And... And you have a place to come home to if you want it!"

Himari looked back to offer a smile and a wave before turning around to finally be on her way.

Masato sighed. Oh, sweet child... Why is your life energy fading?

The little girl in his arms finally spoke up. "Papa, who was that?"

"That my dear was your very strong big sister."

The little girl's eyes lit up. "That's my big sister? She's super nice!"

Masato smiled. "Yes, she is. Now let's go find Prince Soma. I made your sister a promise after all."

Masato took the little girl and headed towards the castle.